Anthology Scenarios

This anthology contains all the scenarios that premiered at Make A Scene 2019! On this page you can find a description of each game and some basic information about what you need to play it. Some scenarios utilize resources from the internet. You can find those resources linked here, as well as links to any sheets you need to print in order to play this game: Supplemental Materials.

You can buy this scenario anthology here!

Boundary Waters

by Katherine Shane

Why do we do we travel? Why do we go to the world’s wild places? Why do we paddle or hike for days, when we could reach the same destination in a few hours by car? In a world of elevators, why do we climb mountains? Sometimes we go into the wilderness to figure out what matters. We take on burdens to learn how much we can carry, and who will help us bear the load. We go to liminal spaces to find a path forward, or the way home. Sometimes we all need to go to the Boundary Waters.  

In Boundary Waters, a group of six strong women facing difficult choices travel through the lakes and portages of the Boundary Water Canoe Area, heading for the Canadian border. As they paddle, they contend with the inner voices of hope and fear, guilt and love. At portages, they carry heavy burdens over difficult terrain, just as the must carry the burdens of their past and future choices over many paths. Sometimes they share each other’s burdens. At night they gather in the dark and liminal space of a campfire under the stars. As they travel, the beauty of wild places will hone who they are and what they value most. When they reach the border, each must make a choice. 

Participants: 2-7 players and 1 facilitator; facilitator cannot play in the game.

• An even number of players (2 per canoe) is ideal.
• Games with an odd number of players require a special character.

Duration: 4 hours

Keywords: Physically active, guided meditation, nature, canoeing, decision-making, female roles

Content Advisory: interpersonal conflict, preganacy, abortion, job-loss, financial stress, ending relationships, family violence, mental and chemical health, light drug use

Adaptation for online play: Hard (probably not possible)

Space: One space for 6 chairs and another space to move around in (another room, a series of hallways, an open space outside)

Preparation: Some materials to be printed. Large amount of props needed.

Resources: How to Build a Slosh Pipe

About the author: Katherine/Kathy has been active in roleplaying for close to 40 years, first with the time-honored and well-loved Dungeons & Dragons, and over time branching at least a little into nearly everything else with the words “role play” in it somewhere. She has been head-over-heels in love with larp genre since taking part in the US run of Just a Little Lovin’ in 2017, and since then has played in, run and supported many live action games. In her day job, Kathy has worked in social justice nonprofits for her entire career with a focus on grant writing.

I Don’t Get It

by Quinn D

Scenarios can be a powerful format in understanding others perspectives and experiences in life. This journey through emotions is a chance to explore common asexual experiences in a safe way while growing understanding.

I Don’t Get It is a scenario exploring parts of asexual experience through emotional analogies. It focuses on conveying feelings to help participants relate rather than direct logical understanding. Participants will take turns as the soloist in scenes constructed around a number of emotional analogies while others take the part of a chorus supporting it. The scenes will vary, with each connected to common asexual experiences through the use of visual media by asexual creators.  By using emotional analogy, participants will not directly play asexual characters.

I Don’t Get It is primarily intended for non-asexual participants but welcomes all. No prior knowledge of asexuality is needed, just an open mind.

Participants: 4-6 Participants and 1 facilitator

Duration: 2 hours

Keywords: Asexuality, Exploring identity, LGBTQA+, Emotional journey, Analogy

Content Advisory: This scenario may elicit feelings of aloneness, not being understood, not understanding, self doubt, brokenness, isolation, pretending, and pressure to conform. One video clip includes discussion of sexual coercion which participants can easily step out for. One scene will include optional touch of hands and handling play-doh.

Adaptation for Online Play: hard.

Space: Access to electricity and internet simplify advance preparation.

Preparation: Requires a way to show video to participants from a computer, some amount of props.

Resources: 

• Media for I Don’t Get It
• Coming Out Asexual, by Echo Gillette
• Asexuality: 10 Things You Need to Know by AmeliaAce
• Middle School Fun || Asexual in Junior High by Courtney on Aced It!
• March 6, 2019 Tumblr post by Lake Fama
• Why do People Think Aces are Lying? by AmeliaAce
• Would I date an allosexual (someone who isn’t ace)? by Daniel on Slice of Ace
• The Struggles of ASEXUALITY ft. Echo + Aaron by ChandlerNWilson
• The Asexual Experience on Asexual Philippines Channel, written and directed by Monica Ongsingco
• I’m a Myth | An Asexuality Poem by Abbie Wells

About the author: Quinn has over a decade of experience writing, running, and participating in roleplaying events in a variety of formats and styles.  Quinn values the format for its ability to build empathy, educate, explore human existence and create social bonds.  Quinn’s recent focus has been on emotional content, identity exploration and empathy building in a visceral and safe manner. Outside of roleplaying events, Quinn enjoys making things, spending time with friends, and volunteering time for a local community health clinic.

Passing

by Mo Holkar

Passing is a retrofuturistic microlarp about people of ethnic minority origin who are able to ‘pass’ as members of the dominant ethnicity.

In an unspecified future, the Terran Empire covers the whole solar system, and several of the planets and moons have been settled for centuries. Earth is a benign overlord and maintains the lion’s share of wealth, power and authority – as is only right. Citizens of the colonies, although fully human, are sometimes seen as being not quite like true Earth people. “They have their own ways.”

A group of people gather together to chat. During their conversation, stereotypes about non-Terrans are aired. But one member of the group, unknown to the others, has an off-Earth ethnic background. How do they feel, as the discussion progresses to become more prejudiced? How might they react?

The design intention of Passing is to allow participants to explore delicate issues of race in a ‘safe’ way. It seeks to reflect the way that in the real world, passing is a privilege but also a burden.

In Passing you will together choose a set of stereotypes, design a background for the group, and then play out the conversation. Play takes place simply sitting around a table and chatting. There are safety precautions available if you feel uncomfortable during play. Afterward, there will be an optional debrief about the thoughts and feelings that may have been raised by the larp experience.

Participants: 3 to 6 participants. 4 or 5 is probably ideal. There is no separate facilitator – just that one of the participants will need to keep time.

Duration: usually 60 minutes

Keywords: society, friendship, prejudice, exclusion, passing

Content advisory: this scenario is about stereotyping of and prejudice against people of a minority ethnicity.

Adaptation for online play: Passing can easily be adapted for online play.

Space: any ordinary room in which a conversation can comfortably be held.

Preparation: Two sheets of preprinted materials.

Accessibility: participants will need to be able to read printed textual material.

About the author: Mo Holkar is a long-time UK larper. He is an organizer of The Smoke: London’s International Larp Festival, and is an editor at nordiclarp.org. He mostly writes chamber larps, some of which can be downloaded from his website at holkar.net.

The ProSynthoid Liberation Society

by Jae Krehbiel

The ProSynthoid Liberation Society meet for their bimonthly planning meeting, ready to prepare their agenda for the coming months.The previous campaign didn’t convince, well, anyone that those weird robots at the coffee shop are actually sentient creatures, so there’s a lot of work to do. Not all the members see eye-to-eye on the best solution to freeing their mechanical friends, and they only have the room for an hour before the folk dancing class, but the new president is confident they can work out their differences and lead the way to a human-Synthoid utopia!

Players will be inhabiting the role of a participant in an activist meeting, who have personal reasons for being there. As their character, players will participate in discussion about the best methods the activist group should use, as well as discuss the nature of their work, all while choosing how much to reveal about their individual motivations. The facilitator will participate in-character as the beleaguered moderator of the meeting.

Participants: 5-15 players, and 1 facilitator

Duration: 2 hours

Keywords: Activism, funny, futuristic

Content Advisory: discussion of terrorism, capitalism

Adaptation for online play: Easy

Materials: Whiteboard, provided materials

Space: One room with enough space for all participants

Preparation:  Some materials to be printed.

About the author: Jae Krehbiel is a creator local to the Twin Cities area. This is their second LARP scenario, but they have been designing games and roleplaying resources for over two decades. Jae enjoys scenarios with strong characters and interesting set-ups. Their works can be found at taquelli.itch.io.

Silenthearts

by Shawn Roske

In Silenthearts players are committed spiritual seekers camping out at a lake for a four day silent retreat with their guru. You are guided through each day to scenes of communal meals, chores, art, and free time. Each ‘night’ the same three minute guided meditation will play while you ‘sleep’ and dream. There will be an intimate ritual to enter and exit silence. Most of play will be in silence with subdued interaction between players. The experience is introspective. It is a high bleed game. It will challenge players who are used to dramatic player interactions: Silenthearts is the opposite.

Participants: 4 – 8 (possible from 2 – 12), 1 facilitator

Duration: 3 – 5 hours (smaller numbers greatly speed up play)

Keywords: spirituality, silence, introspective

Content Advisory: Silent play with a high chance for bleed

Adaptation for Online Play: Hard

Space: A large private room capable of having all four corners as play spaces in addition to the central area.

Preparation: Medium amount of room preparation, and a medium number of props.

About the author: Shawn Roske is a larpwrite living in Ottawa, Canada. His design, Last Item on the Agenda, won in the skill building category of the 2017 Civic Games Contest. He regularly attends Double Exposure Events in New Jersey.

Singles Day

by Ross Cheung

Technology can solve everything, or so is the claim.  In a contemporary urban city, a group of young-to-middle-aged adults, under social pressure from age-old cultures and traditions, as well as pressure from modern digital-age innovations, take to the internet to find love.  Will they find the connection they desperately seek, in an increasingly isolated world?  Or will they give up, delete their apps, and seek solace in ice cream, friendship, or increasing bitterness at the world?

In Singles Day, the players play a host of characters with a variety of reasons for going online to seek human connection.  The players will navigate an abstracted central area to represent the internet, with an off-area site to simulate a cafe for an in-real life meeting place.  They will interact with other players on one-on-one interactions, and have the option to try and meet anyone in person, or “swipe left” and avoid the unpleasantness of any encounter.

This being the modern day, however, no matter how deep you get, you can get out of your situation by “ghosting” your current partner and returning to the anonymity of the internet.  There is always an easy out, where you don’t have to think about the person you were with.

Participants: 10-15 (can work with less, but not recommended), 1 facilitator

Duration: 3  hours

Keywords: Personal relationships, loneliness, human connection, digital age. 

Content Advisory: relationships ending, rejection, loneliness

Adaptation for Online Play: Hard, but possible

Space: One fairly large space, or two smaller spaces.

Preparation: Minimal props and materials required.

Accessibility: There will be light walking throughout the center of the play area, and a number of one-on-one interactions.  Accommodations can be made in case a player is unable to stand and walk at length.